


Making de Vorld Seem Lighter

by Clare_Hope



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Argo Keene Needs A Hug!, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clare_Hope/pseuds/Clare_Hope
Summary: Argo has an entirely justified emotional breakdown after the whole hell-dimension debacle. His friends...help? Well, they try to, anyway.
Relationships: Master Firbolg & Argo Keene & Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Comments: 26
Kudos: 58





	Making de Vorld Seem Lighter

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place immediately after TAZ G episode 23: Between a Rock and a Hell Place (had to look up that title just now. huh. travis sure...did that!), so I'm like a month late from when this would have been relevant because apparently I cannot finish anything ever kjdsjkfak but here we are! Hope you enjoy! <3 ~Martin

It was very late by the time everyone in Marie's office finally dispersed. Fitzroy felt a little guilty for falling and nearly screwing everything up for everyone in the hell dimension, but they had all survived despite his fumble. And he was a lot better off than the Firbolg, who was still favoring his injured arm as they headed back to their dorm...or Argo, who was being very quiet and seemed to shrink in on himself while they walked like he was trying to make himself invisible.

Fitzroy made an exaggerated stretch and yawn in the doorway of their connected rooms. "Well,  _ quite _ a day, fellows! Goodnight!"

"Sleep vell," said the Firbolg.

Argo said nothing. He had sat down on his bed and was staring into the middle distance, his hands loosely clasped in his lap. Neither Fitzroy or the Firbolg made any move to close the door between the two rooms. It was better for them not to be separated tonight.

Fitzroy found a message from Rainer in his notebook. 

_ So how did your secret trial go? Have you been acquitted? _

Fitzroy smiled and wrote back,  _ I can't say, but we are alive and still have our memories, so you can probably make some accurate conclusions. _

_ That's good to know! Are you three alright? _ she returned quickly.

He glanced over at Argo. Despite Marie's treatment and proclamation that he was going to be fine, Argo still looked...bad. There was a pale, sickly grey tinge to his normally clear blue skin. If Fitzroy watched for it, he could see his friend trembling slightly. His eyes were wide, but he didn't seem to be  _ looking  _ at anything.

_ I think we will be _ , Fitzroy decided to write eventually.  _ It was, not going to lie, a little rough. Might not be back to 100% tomorrow. But no need to worry about us. _

_ Okay...but let me know if you need any help, alright? _

_ Will do, my lady. Goodnight. _ Fitzroy put aside his pen and closed the notebook, undressed into his nightclothes, and sat down on his bed. He had fared better in the hell dimension than Argo, but he still didn't feel... _ great _ . His body was sore and he had a headache that lingered behind his eyes. Exhaustion pressed him into a state that was somewhat closer to sleep than a trance.

The Firbolg's low voice woke him some time later. "Argo," he was saying, "you  _ must _ rest."

"Go back to sleep, Firby, don't you worry about me," Argo dismissed breezily.

"If you are upset, you should tell us vhy."

"I'm just fine--I had a lollipop, remember? That makes everything perfectly fine."

The Firbolg grumbled something. "For a rogue, you are...terrible liar, eh?"

Fitzroy got out of bed and crept closer to the door. He could see Argo with his arms wrapped around his knees, not looking at the Firbolg. "Everything alright?" he asked quietly.

"No," said the Firbolg, at the same time that Argo said, "Yes."

"Seems like there's a disagreement. As CEO of the Thundermen, I have to see to it that the argument is settled," Fitzroy stated.

"Dis is job for HR," the Firbolg said, confused.

"Just...roll with it, okay?" Fitzroy sighed. He stepped further into the room and waved one of the lamps on. Argo flinched at the light. "Argo, going to be honest, you look more than a little shaken up."

"Oh, why don't the two of ya just go back to sleep?" Argo muttered. There was bitterness there, but Fitzroy didn't think it was directed towards them.

" _ You _ aren't asleep," countered Fitzroy.

"I'm...not tired?"

" _ Such _ a terrible liar. Master Firbolg, you're so right."

"Ah, shut up," Argo said half-heartedly.

"Do you need to go back to Marie? Are you still not healed?" pressed Fitzroy.

"She can't do anything more for me, ya both heard her." With a shiver, Argo crossed his arms over his chest and made himself seem even smaller.

"She also said dat you should rest," the Firbolg reminded him.

With an air of petulance, Argo didn't answer.

"You're exhausted, Argo, more than either of us. If there's something wrong, tell us," Fitzroy encouraged.

"Ya want to know what's wrong?" Argo said with sudden vehemence. "I watched my mother's murderer slip away today after thinking he might  _ finally _ face justice, saw my friend get stabbed and poisoned, and then had my head fucked up by a hell dimension that seemed dead-set on killing me! So can ya blame me for not feelin' particularly  _ restful _ right now?"

Fitzroy didn't know what to say for a second. "No--I don't bla--"

"Every plan I made is useless," Argo interrupted, voice shaking. "I've got no place here anymore, no place at this school. My one chance, and I fucked it all up. Ya oughta've left me back in that hell dimension for all the good I'm gonna do out here."

"Now don't talk like that!" Fitzroy exclaimed, shocked. He rushed over to Argo and tried to grab his shoulders, but Argo ducked away smoothly. "Of course we shouldn't have left you there, that's ridiculous!"

Argo scoffed. "I was the only one who couldn't handle it. Face it, Fitz, I'm bad for business."

"Screw business," Fitzroy said firmly.

"Fitzroy is right," the Firbolg said. "Screw business. You are our  _ friend _ first."

"Friend or not, I'm pathetic. Useless," Argo spat. "Couldn't even get my mam justice, didn't even have the guts to attack like I should've. Should've killed him right there. I should have--should have-- _ ah! _ " As Argo became more worked up, his breathing got faster and faster until he clutched at his head with a pained cry.

"Argo?" Fitzroy said worriedly. He sat down next to his friend. "Argo, what's wrong?"

"Hurts," Argo answered in a small voice. "Just...makes my mind hurt."

"De hell dimension did...lasting damage," the Firbolg guessed.

Argo whimpered.

Fitzroy put an arm around him quickly. "I'm sure it isn't permanent. Like Marie said, you should try to rest."

"I don't want to sleep," Argo insisted. "I...I don't know. Maybe I deserve this. Maybe it happened for a reason."

"Now, hey." Fitzroy pulled him a little closer. "I know you want a good grade in blame-taking class, but you don't have to do your homework right now. We have bigger things to worry about."

Argo didn't seem amused.

"It was probably just bad luck," Fitzroy added in a quieter voice. "Any of us might have been affected like that."

"But you weren't."

"You were already having a rough day. It just hit you a little harder. Come on, now, don't beat yourself up about it." Fitzroy looked to the Firbolg for support.

"Ve vere in demon world," the Firbolg said. "De response you had vas...more dan reasonable."

"There," said Fitzroy, satisfied. "See,  _ you _ were the reasonable one back there. If anything, the rest of us are strange for  _ not _ getting freaked out. Maybe I'm just a little too used-to demonic influence. The Firbolg is, of course, unflappable in his ability to stay calm--"

"Dis has been proven untrue--"

"And who  _ knows _ about Jackle, that guy is just weird. Argo, you being thrown by standing in literal hell is  _ normal _ ," Fitzroy concluded. "You just have exceedingly odd friends."

"...well, that's true." Argo sniffed. "But I still feel lousy as shit. I just--" He clenched his fists and Fitzroy felt him shudder slightly. "I hate that he got away. I hate that Grey showed up to save his cowardly ass, and I  _ really _ hate that I didn't see it coming. I really thought…"

"He vould get vhat vas coming to him," the Firbolg said.

Argo nodded slowly. "I was all prepared for it, for the Unbroken Chain to throw him in a prison or...frankly for a minute there, I was sure Jackle was goin' to kill him. I thought for sure, this was it. My whole life...everything, since my mam died, I thought it had all led to that. And everything I'd done since then would have been worth it. But now…" He made a helpless gesture. "Boom. Nothing. I've got nothing. Nada. Zip. Not a damn thing going for me."

"You have...us?" the Firbolg suggested hesitantly. "No? Ve vill also not stop until de Commodore has faced justice."

"Yeah, you have us!" Fitzroy agreed. "A Firbolg who can't swim, and me, who can't be stealthy to quite literally save my life. And let's face it, that's a lot more than most people have."

"Two friends I can count on is definitely more than I had a few years ago," Argo acknowledged. "You...you're good people. Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

"Has it worked?" Fitzroy asked.

"Eh…" Argo started to shrug his arm off. "Go back to sleep and check in again in the morning."

"No," Fitzroy said stubbornly, throwing his other arm around Argo and hugging him tightly.

Fighting in vain to get away, Argo said, "Ah, what the hell, Fitz, are ya tryin' to crush me?"

"Not intentionally, but you're quite slippery, and if I don't hold on tight, you'll move too far away."

"I'm fine! I feel a lot better!" Argo protested. "Ya don't need to be doin' this."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you, because you're still off-color and your voice is shaky and you're so tired that you're not even fighting that hard," replied Fitzroy.

"And ya think squeezin' me to death is goin' to help?"

"I think it would help if you would just let me hug you!"

Argo struggled for another moment and then gave up. His shoulders slumped. Fitzroy found himself holding up most of his weight. "You're right, I'm too tired for this," Argo admitted in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper. "Fitz, I know you're trying to help, but ya can't make everything magically okay."

The Firbolg put his hand on the back of Argo's head. Fitzroy loosened his grip enough for Argo to turn and look at him. "T'ings are not okay," the Firbolg stated. "And it is...okay. Dat you are not okay."

Argo opened his mouth briefly, then closed it, his eyes welling up. Strangely, the couple of tears that fell seemed to soak back into his skin before they could slide very far down his cheeks. He nodded once.

"Good we've got someone who knows how to get to the point, huh?" said Fitzroy. "Master Firbolg, you truly have a knack for saying exactly what needs to be said. I wouldn't have gotten there so eloquently in a hundred years."

"Dis is obvious," the Firbolg replied.

Fitzroy glared, but Argo let out a weak giggle, so he let the comment slide without complaint. "Anyway, Argo, how about actually sleeping now?"

Argo pulled away, and Fitzroy reluctantly let him go (though he kept a hand on his arm). "I...I don't know, really, I...look, I've been...havin' dreams, about him, since he got here. Sleep hasn't been really much help. Just knowin' he's still out there…I just don't know how I could sleep."

"Start by lying down and closing your eyes?" Fitzroy said, just a little cheekily.

"Ha."

"No, but really, if you could lie down for a bit, you might feel better."

Argo looked unconvinced.

"Sleeping is good," insisted the Firbolg. "At least you should...try, eh?"

"I'm outnumbered, aren't I?" said Argo.

"Most certainly," Fitzroy answered.

Silently, Argo nudged him further to the side of the bed so he could lie down. He had his back pressed to the wall and held one of his two pillows tightly to his chest. Despite trying to seem relaxed, it was obvious that he was anxious. "There, you two can go back to sleep now."

"No, not yet. We'll stay with you," said Fitzroy.

"Ya don't have--"

"Perhaps be quiet now," the Firbolg stated.

"...okay." Argo closed his eyes reluctantly. Several minutes passed, but he clearly wasn't any closer to sleeping. A breath caught in his throat and he rolled over so he was facing away from his roommates.

"Argo?" said the Firbolg warily.

"'m fine," Argo whispered.

Fitzroy just sighed.

"I can't sleep," he amended. "I…" His voice wavered. "There's only...bad things, in my head. Ah, shit, I'm not making any sense, I can't think straight…"

"I really think you need to rest--"

"I-- _ can't _ ," Argo choked out. "I'm  _ trying _ and I  _ can't _ , I can't make it  _ stop _ \--"

To Fitzroy's dismay, his friend was starting to cry again. "No, no, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you weren't trying, or--Argo, please, it's alright."

Stumbling over helpless sobs, Argo said, "I want to sleep but I can't, and what's worse is...I don't know if these thoughts are  _ me _ or the hell dimension still fucking with me."

"Is hard to separate vhere t'oughts come from," the Firbolg said sympathetically. "But, if you do not… _ vant _ dem, den dey cannot be...you."

"Do you want to talk about it? Would it help to...to tell us what you're thinking?" asked Fitzroy.

"I...I don't know…"

Fitzroy took Argo's shoulders and helped him sit up. He tried to wipe away a tear, but it was absorbed back into Argo's skin before he could reach it and he ended up just awkwardly patting Argo's face. "Tell us anyway. Then at least you don't have to be the only one carrying the thoughts."

"It's just...I think about when she left," Argo mumbled. "Last time I saw her, I thought...I should give her another hug. And I didn't, 'cause...she was gonna be back the next day. But she didn't come back. And somehow I must have  _ known _ , because I knew...I knew the Commodore had it out for her, I knew...the skirmish was too sudden, it wasn't natural...and he's still out there plotting and he...he could come for any of us next, he...he could trick any of us into walkin' right towards our deaths. He's out there and I can't stop thinking about him, and all I want is to stop  _ fucking thinking about him _ , and he already took my mam, why does he get to take my peace of mind too?" His skin could barely keep up with the flow of saltwater anymore as he stared into the distance with haunted, flooding eyes.

Fitzroy couldn't think of a single thing to say. He grabbed Argo's hand where it was clenched in his lap and held on tightly.

The Firbolg let out a grumbling, humming sigh as he, too, reached out to offer some reassurance. He rested his hand on Argo's arm. "He is not here, Argo," he said steadily. "He cannot hurt us tonight."

"Yeah, it's just us here right now. Just the three of us, so we're safe. We're safe," Fitzroy repeated. He wished he was better at giving this sort of comfort, that he didn't trip over his own tongue constantly and compensate with stupid jokes. Argo deserved friends who could make him feel safe, and clearly, Fitzroy wasn't making the cut. Maybe Argo would be better off if he left.

_ Okay, now is that my thought or did it get put there by the hell dimension? _ Fitzroy thought uneasily. He was well-acquainted with insecurity, but this was way too much like the feelings that Argo had expressed earlier.  _ Maybe this whole situation was designed to make all of us feel inadequate, to make us doubt ourselves and our friendship. _ He glanced at the Firbolg and wondered if he was having similar thoughts. As usual, his expression was unreadable past the obvious concern for Argo.  _ For such an honest guy, he sure plays his emotions close to his chest. Or maybe I'm just not familiar enough with Firbolg facial expressions and body language, and Master Firbolg is really an open book. _

The doubt continued to creep up on him as he found more and more reasons to think himself less than enough. He understood suddenly how helpless and confused Argo must feel, not being able to tell whether the thoughts in his head were his own or whether they were put there by someone trying to manipulate him.

_ Well, thoughts are only thoughts. They can't manipulate me unless I let them. What I _ do _ is another matter entirely. So...what should I do? _

He pulled Argo back into a side-hug a little more forcefully than was probably comfortable. Argo kept shaking with silent sobs, not letting any sound escape him. "We  _ are _ going to win, you know," Fitzroy said with the kind of confidence he wished he actually had. "We're going to beat Grey, and we're going to get justice for your mom, and we're not going to give Chaos the world he wants, and...and we're going to be okay. That's how this is all gonna turn out. Argo, listen, we're going to be okay."

Argo wiped his face with the back of his hand and took a deep breath like he was about to calm down and stop crying. Instead, he exhaled with an audible sob and buried his face in his hands.

Looking to the Firbolg, Fitzroy stated, "It appears I've managed to make things worse."

"No," Argo said quickly. "Ya didn't, I'm...really, ya didn't make it worse. That's n-not why...I'm just…"

"Perhaps den a long cry is...vhat is needed," said the Firbolg. "Is good, for making de vorld seem...lighter."

"Yeah," said Argo, and he let his head fall onto Fitzroy's shoulder. "Think ya might be right."

Fitzroy shifted so he could hold his friend closer, putting his chin down on top of Argo's head. One advantage to being eight inches taller than he used to be was that it was really easy now to completely envelope someone smaller than him in a hug. That was handy now as Argo broke down into more tears. "We've got you," he said. "Like Master Firbolg said, tears are good for you. You know, better than holding it all in." He could feel Argo pressing closer with trembling sobs. "There, now. You're alright."

The Firbolg was stroking Argo's hair wordlessly. He nodded, conveying some sort of approval as he glanced at Fitzroy.

"There, it's alright," continued Fitzroy in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "It's alright."

Eventually, Argo began to stop sobbing. Exhaustion seemed to be winning. He took shuddering breaths and held onto Fitzroy's shirt with a loose grip. "Hey, fellas?" he whispered.

"Yes?" said Fitzroy.

"I...thanks. Just, thanks."

"Is not'ing to t'ank us for. Is vhat friends do, eh?" replied the Firbolg.

"Still." Argo was quiet for a minute. He didn't raise his head from Fitzroy's chest. "Think I should...try to sleep."

"Probably so." Fitzroy waited for him to pull away. When he didn't move, Fitzroy just gestured for the Firbolg to hand him a blanket and together they tucked it gently around Argo. The three of them sat in silence until Argo was sound asleep. After a few more minutes, Fitzroy let Argo lay down on the bed and stood up carefully. "'Night," he whispered to the Firbolg.

The Firbolg nodded.

Fitzroy tiptoed back into his own room. Once again, he left the door open. Just in case.

**Author's Note:**

> Argo! Gets! Hugs!
> 
> Comments are appreciated! Come be my friend, i'm @argonaut--keene on tumblr! <3 ~Martin
> 
> p.s. there is a chance I'll write more fic specifically abt argo and the hell dimension since that seems to be something that is...continuing, so i'll add chapters here if i do write more!
> 
> p.p.s. fitzroy: "i'm sure it isn't permanent!"  
> travis in today's episode: "boi u thought"


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